Life on Marrs

Health Care Bill

2010-03-22T07:50:00.003-08:00

"Let them discover the kind of doctors that their system will now produce. Let them discover, in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe, if he is the sort of man who resents it—and still less safe, if he... is the sort who doesn't."
~Dr. Hendricks, Altas Shrugged

Going Postal on Health Care?

2010-01-05T12:05:00.004-09:00

Why is it that so many people think the government should intervene with health care? Think about it - the same people & system of management that brings us the US Post Office (and DMV, and countless other painful entities to deal with) is supposed to manage that which is responsible for maintaining our health and saving our lives!

I just returned from the Post Office - I had 8 packages and envelopes to send, all packed properly and ready to go. It took me over 45 minutes... one clerk started rudely ("Do you have your customs forms?" "No" "Then you need to step back." - step back? am I now a threat?) - then after said cumbersome forms, the same man was nicer, but a short way into my transaction said that he had to leave for lunch. I was allowed to keep my place in line, and the next man was very pleasant but not overly competent (hunt and peck typing, consistent mistakes and misprints of postage, etc) - so in the end, long lines, rudeness and incompetency - the things we have all come to expect from the government agencies - and I think the Post Offices is one of the better bureaucracies that I've dealt with!

Then I went to the bank. I was greeted pleasantly, the line was almost non-existent (depsite being lunchtime), the service was fast, and I was out the door with a piece of candy and cup of water in hand.

Now, I realize that there are good government employees and bad private sector folks - but all of my experiences have shown that those are the exceptions. Many people I have spoken to seem to have had similar experiences. So why are we pushing for the same system that creates long lines, incompetent service and mind numbing paperwork to be imposed upon our health care system?

I just don't get it...

Comparative Religion

2010-01-03T21:09:00.003-09:00

From HolyTaco.com comes this fabulous "comparative religion" flowchart. Solve the question once and for all! Whatdya know... I should be an atheist. Convenient.

The Reason for the Season..

2010-01-01T15:46:00.006-09:00

The Onion continues its reign of awesomeness with a quick poke at Creationism. A favorite excerpt...

Members of the earth's earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.

According to recently excavated clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script, thousands of Sumerians—the first humans to establish systems of writing, agriculture, and government—were working on their sophisticated irrigation systems when the Father of All Creation reached down from the ether and blew the divine spirit of life into their thriving civilization.

"I do not understand," reads an ancient line of pictographs depicting the sun, the moon, water, and a Sumerian who appears to be scratching his head. (read rest of article here)

Round Up and Resolutions

2009-12-31T18:13:00.003-09:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Rational Jenn just posted the "Best of 2009" Objectivist Round-Up. I'm sure this will be one of the best collections of knowledge, thinking and inspiration ever collected! Check it out.

Alex at the Ayn Rand Institute wrote this great article on the value of New Years resolutions. Enjoy!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy and productive 2010!

Letter to Senator to Oppose Health Care Bill

2009-12-15T08:35:00.002-09:00

Here's the letter I sent to our Alaskan democratic senator Begich this morning regarding the health care bill currently in the senate:

Senator Begich,

56% of Americans oppose this bill
only 40% approve
(source: Rasmussen Reports, Dec 14th, 2009)
my observation has been that Alaskans oppose it even more fiercely

Please vote NO on the health care bill - to vote otherwise would be to completely disregard (and unethically represent) your constituents.

I strongly oppose this bill, primarily because claiming a "right" to the goods and services produced by others is immoral, but also because history has shown that government oversight reduces access and quality by miring people and productivity in bureaucracy. Doctors, hospitals, and patients should have the right and the freedom to deal with each other any way they want.

Please vote NO on the health care bill.

Wayne M
McCarthy, AK

Please write your senators as well asking them to help fight this un-ethical, un-American bill.

Is Income Equality Moral?

2009-11-30T09:35:00.003-09:00

During a recent conversation, income differences between the rich and the poor was mentioned as a problem. Looking at the US Census Bureau data (table F-1 at this link), from 1947 to 2008 the income of the poorest quintile in the US has increased 108% vs. the income of the richest quintile, which increased 194%. So the questions I ask is: if my income doubles, what does it matter if my neighbors' income triples? Is it really important that everyone’s quality of life rises at the same rate?

Personally, I think Steve Jobs or the Google Guys should make a ton of money for their amazing innovations – as they benefit a lot of people, and those people freely give their money to them in exchange for the benefit they see for their own life. But why do so many of those same people (the ones benefiting from iPods and Google) then want to take a significant percentage of that money back in the form of taxes? What do you think is the moral justification for taking back money that was freely given to someone else that benefited your life?

No one I've spoken to seems comfortable with the idea of directly taking money from another person just because that person has more money than they do. Yet most people seem comfortable with the idea of electing an official, who then takes that money (in the form of taxes) and spends it on their behalf (in the form of public services). Many will argue that it's for "the public good" and that everyone has a vote, but then I think of all the horrific acts (e.g. the Inquisition, Stalin's or Mao's purges, the Holocaust, etc) that were often perpetrated by parties voted into power and most often carried out under the guise of the "public good". It seems to me that the "morality of a society" is just the morality of its participants - which can be reflected in the officials they elect and the acts they condone, either by active participation or silence...

Justice, not Grace

2009-11-25T21:03:00.002-09:00

Last year around this time I also posted a link to Craig Biddle's excellent article, "Don't Say Grace, Say Justice". This is a great, positive description of why we should be thankful for those who truly bring a benefit to our lives, rather than a fictional god who deserves no credit. Highly recommended.

Happy Turkey-day everyone. Eat, drink, be merry, and thank those who make your life great.

Hooray for Wayne!

2009-11-21T21:32:00.004-09:00

Well, my wonderful hubby finally made his first post on Life On Marrs (see below). I was beginning to think I should change the URL to justgaia.blogspot.com. He's awfully smart, well-spoken and funny too (of course I'm biased), so here's to many more!

Everyday Questions on Health Care

2009-11-20T19:42:00.002-09:00

A friend recently asked for my thoughts on health care reform - and here is my casual response:

overall - the overriding moral issue is whether or not health care is a "right" - you know I'm a huge fan of individual rights (the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness (i.e. the right to take actions for your own life) and the right to property (i.e. the right to keep the fruits of your own labor). To claim goods and services as a "right" is immoral, as you have to take away the true rights of some (property) in order for others to make a claim to the goods and services of other (e.g. to say that everyone has a right to cheap health care is to say that doctors and nurses do not have the right to charge what people are willing to pay for their services)

now that we've got the big moral question out of the way, let's move on to some of the politic issues and analysis. to my mind, some key/relevant questions (numbered) with their respective points (lettered) would be:

1) why is health insurance so much more expensive then other insurance (e.g. car or home insurance?)

a) during the Great Depression, hospitals and doctors organized their own insurance groups to promote/sell their services - they pitched it to the government as a "non-profit" that would cover entire communities and charge the same rate for each person - the lobbying paid off and the govt granted them special privileges (tax exempt status and a greatly reduced reserve requirement (i.e. how much money the insurance company must keep available to pay for claims - and this reserve capital is the largest factor for the viability of an insurance company) - who were these dastardly companies using government influence for unfair competitive advantage? The answer: Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Needless to say, the Blues dominated the market within just over a decade. Nothing like government-awarded monopolies to skew pricing! The Blues are only listed as the 44th largest political donor - after bankers, real estate and unions - so is there any mystery why we had the bank bailout, the home buyers credit and the GM bailout before health care? http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php

b) another important factor in health insurance is that during WWII - the govt put a freeze on wage increases but health insurance was exempted (i.e. any health insurance offered by an employer did not count toward the "maximum wage allowance") - so one way that businesses were able to lure workers was to offer the highest wage possible and good health insurance as well. With the dearth of labor available during the war, you can imagine businessmen doing whatever they could to hire good people. This policy led to the "social norm" of employers providing health insurance - but how screwed up is that? Your employer wants to pay as little as possible for your health insurance, but it is to your benefit to use it as much as possible - and you have no motivation to price shop services. Your only concern is co-pay, which for many policies is minimal, so why wouldn't people "use & abuse" such a policy? Imagine if your home owners insurance would cover maintenance items (e.g. mowing your lawn and cleaning your gutters) for a $20 co-pay. Wouldn't you use it all the time? Wouldn't the insurance company need to cover the cost of all the gardeners and maintenance men? Of course - but this is not the role of insurance. It is supposed to be for extreme/rare incidents - but in the case of health care it's been twisted into everyday use, and the person using it has no incentive to even consider the price of the service. Is it any wonder that such a system dysfunctional? Luckily, home owners insurance has not been as heavily manipulated by the government and doesn't cover "little things" - and therefore it is reasonably priced and relatively reliable. I don't understand why more people don't question why other insurance is so good and health insurance so bad...

2) why is health care itself so expensive? (i.e. does not seem to follow normal supply & demand cycles)
a) primarily, I think it's insurance debacle described above that has created the disconnect between the one providing the service, the one receiving the service and the one paying for the service that has skewed pricing so badly, but there are other important factors.
b) current tort law through a variety of precedent cases has made the onus of medical knowledge for medical professionals completely unreasonable. some of the cases that I've looked into seem to imply the standard as an ultra-genius doctor familiar with all aspects of medicine that also never makes a mistake. It's easy enough to imagine juror's that think they are serving justice by hitting insurance companies with outrageous settlements for patients that have had problems - but the cost is astronomical. And it is also true that doctors that make significant errors in judgment should pay - and that they should be insured for when they make errors - but there needs to be a reasonable expectation of what a doctor can know and how difficult medical diagnosis can be.
c) the law that requires ER's treat anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, is ridiculous. Combine that with the low reimbursement rates offered by Medicare and Medicaid and you have another recipe for disaster. These low reimb rates make it difficult for people on Medicare/caid to get a primary physician - but they know they can see a doctor if they go to the ER, so many do. In the eight years following EMTALA (the law that required ER's to see any patient, passed in 1985), ER visits went up 27%, and in that same time 14% of ER's closed down. Is it any wonder?
d) finally, the FDA is such a gigantic and unwieldy bureaucracy that only the largest pharmaceutical companies can have the apparatus required to negotiate the labyrinth to "approval". Because of that, competition is all but eliminated, and guess what...

AND ABOVE ALL - MASSACHUSETTS HAS A SIMILAR PLAN TO WHAT CONGRESS IS CONSIDERING - AND IT LOOKS LIKE A TERRIBLE DISASTER!!!

so, with all those points, you can imagine my amazement that people are calling for more government involvement - when as far as I can tell, it is government involvement that screwed the whole thing up in the first place

kinda like everyone turning to the gov after the credit crash, but no one ever questioned the fed's role in handing out the cheap money that caused the housing bubble to begin with...

NYT headlines of the day

2009-11-16T07:43:00.003-09:00

NYT Headline #1: "G.M., Citing Progress, Reports Loss of $1.15 Billion". Apparently this is a small loss compared to the past, and is allowing GM to begin paying back its government debt.

NYT Headline #2: "Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform". Basically, the new health care bill is going to limit price increases in the coming years, so everyone is trying to give themselves a buffer by raising their prices before the legislation becomes effective. Go buy your cheap drugs now!

Do people not look at these headlines and notice that something is fundamentally flawed? Amazing the world we live in...

Venn Jesus

2009-11-12T16:33:00.003-09:00

Courtesy of Diana Hsieh at Noodlefood, from an unknown original source on Twitter, comes this amazing diagram. Enjoy.

Principles of a Free Society

2009-11-11T08:45:00.002-09:00

Rational Jenn posted a link to this new site by the Ayn Rand institute, "Principles of a Free Society". I haven't perused in detail yet, but it looks like a simply layout of the basic principles for a society based on reason and individual rights. It lays out three main areas: Limited Government, Objective Laws, and Individual Rights. It also goes into detail about four important "separations", Separation of Church and State, Economics and State, Science and State, and Education and State. Good stuff and fairly simple to understand.

Democrats on Health Care

2009-11-08T08:28:00.003-09:00

Doesn't it seem like the democrats are extremely self-righteous and self-congratulatory with this whole health-care thing (and every other issue for that matter)? I think if they could look outside their individual bubbles of political negotiations and deals and see what is really going on, they would have to say, "Oh shit - half of Americans don't want this! Something must be wrong!" But no... I think those individuals truly believe that they are somehow superior and therefore should have the ability to make decisions for everyone else. And of course it doesn't help that we have an apathetic populous in a society that often actively avoids reason. At this rate, we're totally screwed.

Hobbit Beach

2009-11-05T12:27:00.003-09:00

I know I haven't been posting much of substance lately, but it will come! For now, here's a shot from our trip to the Oregon Coast this week...

First Solo Flight

2009-10-20T09:57:00.002-08:00

I may start shopping at "Whole Paycheck"

2009-10-05T09:28:00.002-08:00

On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal published this article as a follow-up to John Mackey's August editorial that caused a lot of backlash towards himself and his company, Whole Foods. You can read the original editorial here.

Although some of his language is not quite ideal in my mind (he talks about companies having a "deeper purpose" and being "good citizens", which could be interpreted as meaning that they have a duty of some sort to society), overall I am a huge fan of his perspective.

For one, he does a great job of pointing out that most companies aren't started solely for the purpose of making tons of money for their owners or shareholders. While I personally believe there is nothing wrong with working hard for the primary purpose of making a profit, given the negative reputation that "profit" has in our society today, it is an important first step for folks to realize that money often isn't the primary motivator for "those evil capitalists". As Mackey points out, "I've met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. They all started their businesses not to maximize shareholder value or money but because they were pursuing a dream." This is certainly true in my experience.

Another great point he makes is regarding the attitude so prevalent today that someone else out there is more capable of making decisions for an individual than that individual himself. He says, "The assumption behind that is that people don't care about their own health, and that somebody else has to—a nanny or somebody—has to take care of me because people are too stupid to make these decisions themselves. That's not been our experience. We find our team members [employees], not surprisingly, seem to care a whole lot about their health." Of course they do.

Finally (for this post), I am encouraged by his activism. "Mr. Mackey's latest crusade involves traveling to college campuses across the country, trying to persuade young people that business, profits and capitalism aren't forces of evil." Go John Mackey! I'll see you in the cheese isle... (I love cheese).

Paulina Lake, Newbury Caldera

2009-09-27T21:30:00.002-08:00

Super Dukie!

Lessons on Managing

2009-09-24T07:55:00.005-08:00

Diana Hsieh at NoodleFood posted about an interview with Steve Jobs of Apple. She quotes several parts of the interview, but my favorite paragraph is her own description of the difference between a bureaucratic company and a healthy one:

"A bureaucratic company is a company that doesn't trust its employees to make good decisions. The result is stagnation and incompetence. If a company can't trust its employees to exercise good judgment in doing their jobs, then it needs to fire them and hire better employees. Or it needs to learn to trust them to do what they're capable of doing, including learning from mistakes. Bureaucratic focus on "process" and "policy" will drive away the most productive and capable employees -- or crush them. It's not a mode of business appropriate to rational, productive people."

This really rings true for me as I reflect on the last four years of practicing hiring, managing and, yes, firing employees. Here are a few lessons we've learned that relate to Diana's quote above (in no particular order):

1. Demonstrate the "company culture" you want and then trust your employees to make good decisions within that framework.
2. Create jobs for individuals rather than hiring individuals for jobs (ie. play to employees strengths rather than forcing them to do jobs they aren't good at).
3. Problem employees, whether due to lack of judgment or being poor community members (dramatic, etc - we deal with this one a lot) aren't worth it, no matter how much experience or other great traits they have. Fire 'em.
4. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Assign tasks, train employees and let them complete them with supervision appropriate to their ability - not more, not less.
5. Explain the reasons behind your decisions, especially early on in your relationship with an employee. This lets them know that you think things through and leads to respect and loyalty.

I am still working on all of these and probably will be for the rest of my career! Who ever said being the boss was easy?!

Principled Government and Fall-time in the Wrangells

2009-09-19T12:27:00.003-08:00

Amit is on an editorial roll. Here is his most recent acticle: "We Need a Return to Principled Government".

We are enroute from our summer home in rural Alaska back to Bend for the winter. I hope to be posting more regularly as we wind down from the summer. Here's a taste of fall in the Wrangells...

Mears Glacier

2009-09-04T18:20:00.005-08:00

This is the Mears Glacier in Prince William Sound. A few days ago I went out on Pangaea's "water taxi" to drop off some day kayakers (and pick them up later) and pick up my friend Laura and her clients from the end of an 8-day trip. Great day! We got right up close to the ice face and there were seals sitting on the icebergs at the base of it. I know it's a small image, but hopefully this gives you some idea of the amazingness of Alaska!

Socializing Japan in the NYT

2009-09-01T09:05:00.002-08:00

This morning in my daily New York Times headlines I saw this:

"Victors in Japan Are Set to Abandon Market Reform:
Japan’s opposition party, which has returned to power, pledged a shift away from deregulation and market-led growth, but its economy may in fact need more of that."

The article overall represents the state of the Japanese economy with statements like this:

"Many outdated rules protect inefficient companies, while entrepreneurship is kept in check by cumbersome barriers. Economists say excessive government assistance to small and medium-size companies works to dampen competitive pressure."

On one hand, I was happy to see these kind of statements in a liberal paper like the NYT. On the other hand, the article repeatedly mentions "American-style free-market economics", which makes me feel that the author believes that America still represents this ideal. The article never stated or implied that the US should also be looking out for the dangers of socialism.

End of Summer and Causes of Waste

2009-08-25T17:19:00.002-08:00

Well, summer is winding down and so perhaps I'll get back to blogging more than once every few months! I'll start out by posting another great article by Amit. I also posted this on Facebook and it has already generated some interesting comments. I keep going back and forth on whether or not to post political stuff there, but I guess I've decided that if people don't want to be friends with me because of my views, then they're probably not my idea of great friends anyway. Anyway, without any further ado: Amit's editorial.

Summertime

2009-05-16T21:15:00.005-08:00

We have now migrated to Alaska for the summer, and the fact that I am just now getting around to writing a post announcing that I won't be writing much for the next five months shows you just how sparse the posting might be!

For those of you who don't know, we run a guiding outfit in Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest national park in the country, located in south-central Alaska. It is an incredible place! We open on Thursday, so this week has been busy opening the place up and getting new guides trained.

I will try to continue to post regularly, although less frequently, throughout the summer, probably mostly on what is going on here rather than political or philosophical stuff. If you want to see a bit about what we do, check out the websites for St. Elias Alpine Guides & Copper Oar Rafting.

Here's a few photos of what it's like here right now... Enjoy!

The Value of Regulation?

2009-05-08T21:26:00.002-08:00

Amit has another great article on Pajamas Media, this time titled, "Questioning the Value of Regulation." As always, it is clear, compelling and to the point. I recommend checking it out.

Cutting spending by one cup of coffee

2009-04-26T15:08:00.002-08:00

Courtesy of the TK Lounge comes a link to this article on Obama's spending and spending cuts. It is simple and easy to understand, complete with simple graphics and a brief analysis from a Harvard economics professor. How on earth are we going to get ourselves out of this mess?!

Neighborhood wildlife

2009-04-19T10:14:00.003-08:00

I've been having fun watching the birds that have been coming to our feeders the last few weeks. We've got a seed-filled feeder in the backyard and a block of suet in the front yard. We commonly have chickadees and some unidentified brown birds on the seed feeder and some beautiful northern flickers on the suet. A couple kinds of blue jays hang around as well and robins, thrushes and doves pick the leftovers off the ground. This last week a flock of these guys (see photo) showed up. Using the miracles of the internet, I have identified them as evening grosbeaks. Super pretty!

I've put more photos on Facebook (you don't have to be a member to see them).

Last Minute Tea Party

2009-04-16T13:39:00.007-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, as I sat on the couch with my cheeks puffed up feeling out of it (I had my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday), Wayne mentioned that there was a tea party tax day protest happening downtown from 3-6pm. I wasn't feeling good, he was busy, and we both figured it would pretty small in this town. On his way to take Duke for a walk at about 5:30, Wayne drove by and found that there was actually quite the crowd. On a spur of the moment inspiration he ran home, we printed a flyer on Atlas Shrugged, ran 100 copies at the local Mail Boxes, Etc, and we were off to spread the word.

There were a dozen or so people standing on the corner with signs and they were getting an encouraging amount of honking and cheering from people driving by. In the park nearby there was a speaker when we arrived, and a bunch of people were gathered to listen. While the speaker (and I'm sure a large percentage of the attendees) were clearly conservative religious types, at least they had the right idea in relation to taxes. After a few minutes of observation, Wayne started walking through the crowd and handing out the fliers and I grabbed a stack and stood at the gate giving them to people as they wandered in and out.

Everyone was very receptive and interested, and Wayne had a few people immediately turn to their spouse/friend/brother and say, "Hey - this is the book I've been trying to get you to read!" I had a few people ask me what it was about, etc, and unfortunately my mouth was so swollen that I could only get out a few words and I don't think even those were all that coherent!

All in all, a success for a (very) last minute effort. Even if only a couple of the the 100 people who got those flyers read the book and/or become interested, it was worth 20 minutes and a couple dollars in copies :) Duke even made a new friend (see the last picture, and note large amount of said friend's slobber on his head!).

Wisdom Teeth and the Miracles of Medicine

2009-04-15T12:40:00.005-08:00

I had all four of my wisdom teeth out yesterday. Not an experience I was looking forward to, as you can well imagine, however for me the scariest part was not the knives, cracking teeth or the pain. None of that sounded fun, but what I was very scared of was going under general anesthesia. Perhaps it is my attachment to being in control, or just the fear that they could do something slightly wrong and I would never wake up.

Whatever the case, it was not so bad and I have to say, nice to not be aware of any of that other not-so-pleasant stuff! The anesthesia they used was intravenous, which apparently is less of a deep sleep than the stuff they give you through the mask at the hospital, but I wouldn't know! They did also give me a local in the mouth to keep the pain down so it wouldn't wake me up. The strangest part was that after the surgery I was apparently at least sort of awake, talking to Wayne and the nurses, walking to the car, getting driven home, and I don't remember any of it! The first thing I really remember is standing in the kitchen pulling the nasty gauze out of my mouth...

The medical industry is pretty incredible. A few hundred years ago, people died of abscessed wisdom teeth or had them pulled with rustic tools and nothing but whiskey as an anesthetic. Today I go in for a 15 minute painless operation where they have calculated the amount and kind of anesthesia just right so I am aware of nothing but wake up almost instantly when it is over and am functional within hours. I am thoroughly taken care of by pain meds afterwards (I took one Vicadin yesterday but since then Ibuprofen has been doing the trick just fine) and am working the next day and will hopefully be doing aikido again in less than a week.

And this is only one very minor example of what medicine can do. Crazy and very very cool.

Ayn Rand as Prophet ("profit"?!)

2009-04-13T09:52:00.001-08:00

Amit's editorial, "Ayn Rand as Prophet", was published on Pajamas Media. Clear and compelling as usual...

Administration Refuses to Accept Repayment of Bailout Money

2009-04-06T07:02:00.005-08:00

This Wall Street Journal Article by Stuart Varney talks about the attempt by one major bank to return the money that was forced on them at the end of the Bush administration. It appears vitally important to the Obama team that they maintain control over all major banks by retaining shareholder status. Scary.

While the article does not identify the bank by name, I am guessing that it is Wells Fargo, given several other stories I have heard. Now more than ever, I am proud to be a Wells Fargo customer! We will be moving our personal account there next month to accompany the business accounts that are already there.

Aikido

2009-04-01T20:42:00.003-08:00

For someone so dedicated to individualism, I am amazingly addicted to a Japanese martial art that comes with all sorts of traditions that defy the individual. Fortunately, our Americanized version of Aikido tends to minimize these aspects and focus on the fun and practical sides of training rather than the spiritual and/or arbitrary.

I love Aikido most of all for the camaraderie and fun that is had while getting some good aerobic exercise and learning to move in a well-aligned, strong fashion. I've never been good at sticking with things like yoga and tai chi because they simply don't hold my interest. The complete focus that Aikido demands provides an opportunity to completely clear my mind of whatever else is going on life.

Aikido is not your standard kicking and punching martial art. The focus is on getting your attacker (partner's) balance and then using that advantage to throw or pin them. It is super fun and not just for the guys who like to fight. There are far more women in Aikido than most martial arts.

Here's a link to an essay I wrote about aikido back in 2004.

All that was a preamble to the announcement that I am heading up to Washington State tomorrow to spend a few days with my family and participate in my dad's long awaited Aikido black-belt test. I will be his primary partner for the test. Great father/daughter time :)

the good the bad the ugly

2009-03-31T21:23:00.007-08:00

Depressing things I've head lately (in no particular order):
1. New York Times headline, "US Moves to Overhaul Ailing Car Makers" (NYT)
2. Canada's Science Minister is a creationist (theglobeandmail.com)
3. Senator Kennedy's "Service Bill" ("mandatory volunteerism" - ugh)

Hopeful things I've heard lately (also in no particular order):
1. Atlas Shrugged is high on the best seller lists and bookstore shelves (OActivists)
2. The president of the EU said that Obama's economic plan is "a way to hell" (NYT)
3. People are actually questioning the role of the federal government and whether it is to blame for this financial crisis (here and here)

Good things in my life these days:
1. Aikido (bendaikido.com)
2. Our cozy house
3. The Duke (see photo)

Bad things in my life these days:
1. The National Park Service and it's complete lack of ability to be reasonable
2. Inconsiderate, whiny, paranoid person we are deep into a business deal with
3. Not enough time before heading north (one month from tomorrow)

Redistribution of Wealth

2009-03-21T10:35:00.001-08:00

This was a treasure in a randomly forwarded email...

Yesterday on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama/Biden 08" pin, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept.

He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need, the homeless guy outside.

The server angrily stormed away.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $5 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was really pissed that I gave away the money he did earn even though the homeless guy seemed to need the money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

Objectivist Round-Up for this week

2009-03-20T20:21:00.002-08:00

This week's Objectivist Round-Up was hosted by Amy at The Little Things. Once again I didn't get to reading every post, but there are always at least a few that catch my eye. One of these weeks I will write something worth adding to the round-up myself...

I have also really been enjoying Amy's style on The Little Things so I've been checking in there regularly. I like her mixture of political, philosophical and personal ramblings and want to try to incorporate more variety myself.

Google - a Threat?!

2009-03-20T20:08:00.002-08:00

Voices for Reason had a great post today about the possibility of antitrust lawsuit being brought against Google due to the market power it has gained by being the dominant search engine. I found the post very easy to understand and think Alex Epstein makes a clear argument for why antitrust laws actually harm competition and therefore the customers. One of my favorite points:

"Google famously encourages employees to devote 20% of their time to creative projects of their own choosing. An antitrust case could effectively force much of that time and energy, especially for top performers, to be devoted to convincing the Department of Justice that Google did not engage in “unfair competition” or some other undefined antitrust term."

I wonder who first thought of the idea that a few individuals in government could decide what was right for the general public better than the general public themselves...

Click here for the whole article.

Objectivist Round-Up

2009-03-12T09:17:00.002-08:00

I just found out that each week someone compiles a collection of the best posts on Objectivist Blogs. This week's round-up can be found here. Some of them I have read and others I haven't gotten to yet, but looks like an interesting list. Check it out.

Atlas Everywhere

2009-03-11T15:29:00.003-08:00

The New York Times "Freakonomics" column had a brief entry about the recent spikes in sales seen by Ayn Rand's magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged. I submitted the following comment. While possibly interesting on it's own, it is probably best put in context by the comments that come before.

Reading Atlas Shrugged because you’ve been hearing about it in the news is certainly understandable and I personally hope that trend continues! However, just reading the book won’t make you truly understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy or its implications and connections with what is happening today.

I encourage everyone to read AS, read a bit about her philosophy in a non-fiction context (there are a lot of good resources at http://www.aynrand.org, including a summary of her ideas), and then try to apply it to your life. Think about examples that you see around you, big and small, and how they might play out in a system based on reason, self-interest and free markets. Think about what is happening now and it’s true causes and how things would be different under different scenarios.

Ayn Rand’s philosophy is not a religion - you can’t just read the book and follow it and have a happy life. You have to understand the ramifications, internalize it, apply it and live it. So before you judge, start with understanding. I think you’ll come to understand that living in a reasonable society where people work for their own self-interest is the best possible scenario for everyone.

Along those lines, the upcoming issue of The Objective Standard has an interview with Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute where he talks about the messages in Atlas Shrugged and how, even more than being political, "it is a novel about what happens to a world that denounces its best minds as greedy and immoral". Of course that relates directly to todays politics, but it speaks to the deeper reasons behind our policies today and why they are so damaging. TOS is offering the interview free of charge on their website.

On Health Care, etc

2009-03-08T11:27:00.003-08:00

I just stumbled across "We Stand FIRM", the blog of the group "Freedom and Individual Right in Medicine", run by Paul Hsieh, MD. They have a lot of great entries and links and I recommend that everyone check it out.

I find the health care debate one of the more interesting topics these days. It always baffles me that so many people decide that health care is a "right". There are a number problems with that idea, but first of all, how do you then define health care? Is a visit to the emergency room a right? What if you were doing a dangerous activity like riding a motorbike off road without a helmet and you screwed up - do the rest of us pay for the consequences? Is medicine for your illness a right? How about a flu shot? What if you need physical therapy or chiropractic work? Should we all pay for your regular massages to keep you healthy and pain-free? Yearly dental check-ups? While you're at it, why don't we all cover that teeth whitening treatment you've been wanting ever since you stopped smoking?

Just like all social programs, these questions illustrate the problems behind government intervention in individual lives. Not only do you have the basic (major) problem of it being entirely immoral to forcibly take money from some to give it to others, but you also have this issue of line-drawing. Someone has to sit there and say, "no, I think they don't get this, but they do get that", and who is possible qualified to make those decisions?!

I remember having this discussion with Wayne back when I was still "liberal" and trying to understand the contradictions. I was arguing that there was a certain level of wealth and material possessions that was OK, and then there was unnecessary extravagance and someone should draw that line and share the wealth around. But who is to say where that line is? Who is to tell someone "no you can't send your child to the private college they want to go to", or, "nope, sorry, we're going to tax you so much that when you get that rare form of cancer that you don't know you're going to next year you won't be able to afford the cutting-edge treatment". Unfairness is inherent in that system in addition to blatent immorality.

Ok, I'm done for now :-)

Somewhat connected, I really liked this post on the "unexpected consequences" of Obama's tax plans on individuals and health care... from the FIRM blog.

For a great, clear overview on the many issues with socialized medicine, I recommend "Moral Health Care vs. Universal Health Care" from this winter's Objective Standard.

Super Dukie!

2009-03-07T18:30:00.003-09:00

Our illegitimate black son on his 4th birthday today... (three years since we adopted him when he was approx 1 y.o.). Deschutes River a few miles from our house.

Why I Never Get Invited to Parties

2009-03-03T11:10:00.004-09:00

Noodlefood had a link to this painfully real comic strip that explains why I never get invited to parties... ;-) Click it to go to the site for a bigger version.

Ayn Rand on Atheism

2009-03-03T08:12:00.003-09:00

For those of you who wonder how to explain your atheist views, check out this video that contains several clips of Ayn Rand explaining the immorality of religion.

I think this quote sums up her argument concisely and clearly: "When you accept such an important issue as the creation of the universe, on faith, you're destroying your confidence and the validity of your own mind."

Not only is it awesome to see such a great mind in action, but she also has a sense of humor (she threatens to turn the host into an atheist!) and a rad accent :-)

"The Atlas Index"

2009-02-28T09:11:00.002-09:00

There was a short article in the Economist a couple of days ago linking sales of Atlas Shrugged to the economic downturn. The most surprising stat to me is that at one point in January its sales were higher than that of Obama's "Audacity of Hope". Gives me a slight sense of optimism...

The article also led me to join the Facebook group, “Read the news today? It’s like ‘Atlas Shrugged’ is happening in real life”. So much for keeping my politics off of Facebook...

UK "Environment Czar" threatens fundamental freedoms

2009-02-26T20:24:00.003-09:00

One of the outdoor industry organizations we belong to recently sent out this news headline. This is the kind of thing that makes me sick to my stomach and scared for our future...

UK’s “Environment Czar” Proposes that the Government Limit Travel to Prevent CO2 Emissions

In a move roundly condemned by British travel organizations, Adair Turner, chairman of the independent Committee on Climate Change that advises UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recently proposed rationing overseas air travel by British Citizens. In remarks to Parliament's Environmental Audit Select Committee on Feb. 5th Turner said, "We will have to constrain demand in an absolute sense with people not allowed to make as many journeys as they could in an unconstrained manner.”

With all due respect, Mr. President, that's not true.

2009-02-13T07:30:00.006-09:00

I love this ad that the Cato Institute ran in major newspapers across the country. They have this blurb alongside it on their website:

"President Obama says that "economists from across the political spectrum agree" on the need for massive government spending to stimulate the economy. In fact, many economists disagree. Hundreds of them, including Nobel laureates and other prominent scholars, have signed a statement that the Cato Institute has placed in major newspapers across the United States."

2009-02-12T05:26:00.002-09:00

Business Week has a brief "pro/con" article on Obama's proposed salary restrictions for CEOs. Yaron Brook does his usual clear and concise job with the "con" side of the argument. Readers can post comments and I submitted the following in response to the leading quote:

"No cap pay for CEOs? The companies are going from bad to worse yet the bastards are making more money plus benefits--you call that talent? No."

Obviously those that needed a bailout so badly that they went to the Feds begging for money weren't going to last much longer without it. Yes, incompetent CEOs may have made a lot of money they didn't deserve for a few years, but obviously that time was quickly coming to an end until the government decided to prop them up.

For those of you who argue that corporations that receive government money should accept government regulation to monitor the use of that money, I would have no response other than to ask why on earth they were given that money in the first place.

Giving money to incompetent institutions directly prevents the good ones from succeeding. Wells Fargo, a competent, well-run bank, was patiently waiting for its over-leveraged competitors to fail so they could claim more market share and benefit from their intelligent practices. Now that their incompetent successors have been propped up, they may never have a chance to be rewarded for their prudence or to provide quality service to millions of Americans.

Please let us run our businesses as we see fit, and succeed or fail on our own merit, for the benefit of us all.

Thailand Photos

2009-02-06T08:04:00.002-09:00

I've been away for the last couple weeks traveling around Thailand with my cousin. Click here to see photos!

Atlas Shrugged... Fiction?

2009-01-10T08:56:00.003-09:00

Wayne just forwarded me this article by Stephen Moore from the Wall Street Journal. I have been sharing many of his thoughts especially throughout these last few months of economic distress, but it was simultaneously affirming and terrifying to see them in print in a major publication. Ok, I'm off to hand out copies of Atlas shrugged door-to-door ;-)

Excerpt from the article:
"In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office."

Read the whole thing. And forward it to your friends.

Property Rights vs. Global Warming

2009-01-09T16:32:00.002-09:00

I recently had an interested discussion with a friend (currently getting her PhD in geology/climate studies) who posted the following article on her Facebook page. To summarize, several Greenpeace activists caused $45,000 worth of damage to a powerplant of giant graffiti in an attempt to shut the plant down and therefore negate its impact on global warming. The court ruled that becaue they were doing it to prevent global warming they were let off the hook. Crazy.

I responded and we got into a discussion about the topic (below)...

Not guilty: the Greenpeace activists who used climate change as a legal defence
Protesters cleared of damaging Kingsnorth power station as defence sets precedent for environmental campaigners

Friend's comment on article: "It was the first case in which preventing property damage caused by climate change had been used as part of a "lawful excuse" defence in court. It is now expected to be used more widely by environment groups."

Me: "This is really disturbing... Where is the line between this case and not convicting someone who causes damage to a dealership, sets their neighbor's car on fire or even kills the CEO of an auto manufacturer in the name of stopping global warming. Scary scary stuff."

Friend: "This is a far cry from harming or killing anyone - certainly not comparable, and I don't find the idea of citing climate change in court cases scary. I find this case interesting because it reminds me of the type of psychology used by the Bush administration in declaring a war on terror - they've selected one specific party to hold responsible for a widespread harm caused by many actors. An obvious difference I see here is that the party they've chosen to hold responsible is in fact one of many directly responsible for the harm, whereas the Bush administration's choices had far less direct links. You could call it choosing a scapegoat, whether well- or poorly-chosen."

Me: "I'm not saying that citing climate change in a court case is necessarily wrong (that's a whole other topic!). For example, if someone could prove that power stations were damaging their life by causing global warming that might be an appropriate argument. The thing that scares me is that it appears that in this case private property rights were thrown out because of this "global threat". I don't think that trespassing and causing damage to other's property is ever an appropriate response to a crisis - it only causes unrest. Just so I understand your position: are you saying that invading or damaging private property is an acceptable protest as long as there is no physical harm to a person or people?"

Friend: "No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying this is an interesting and complex issue, which is why I posted it, and to be honest, I don't know what I would have chosen if I were on the jury. In other words, I don't have a position, and I think that's fine. That said, the case the defense made was that the actions of this (and other) power plants were causing damage to property (and presumably life) in a number of locations around the globe, as you mentioned, and they were attempting to prevent this. Just as you say the power company's private property rights were thrown out, so one might say the rights of many citizens and countries around the world are being disregarded by major greenhouse gas emitters. Is the action of the group justifiable? I'm not sure, but is anyone else (govt?) doing much to act on this? I'm not convinced there is a right answer to this case, but I think it raises interesting questions. It's not a black-and-white issue."

Me: "I think I understand more what you're saying now. I certainly don't think that the issue of what to do about global warming overall is black and white, but I guess I have to disagree with you and say that in this case I do think the appropriate ruling is clear. If the Greenpeace protesters had sued the power companies for causing rising sea levels, etc, that wouldn't violate anyone's rights and would be a very interesting case that I don't know the answer to. However, I can't see a logical way to rule that $45,000 of damage to private property is an acceptable form of protest without carrying that ruling to other similar cases such as my examples of burning cars, damaging dealerships, etc (if you see a clear difference between these please let me know). If those actions become legal then we may as well resign ourselves to a mob-ruled society where basic rights are not protected. That's what I mean when I say this case is scary. Does that make sense?"

Universal Healthcare and the Waistline Police

2009-01-08T06:21:00.003-09:00

Paul Hsieh has an excellent editorial in the Christian Science Monitor with the above title. It is a big deal to have a straight-talking anti-socialism, pro-rights and personal responsibility article in such a major national paper.

Paul has suggested emailing this article to your congressmen and other representatives. You can get their contact info here.

He also suggests writing a supportive letter to the editor of the CSM here. I submitted the following:

"I just wanted to thank you for publishing the excellent editorial by Paul Hsieh, "Universal Healthcare and the Waistline Police". It scares me to see that our government is consistently removing individual rights and therefore discouraging our citizens from taking responsibility for their actions. Please continue to publish articles such as this one that make a rational call for individual rights and responsibility. We need those voices more than ever."

I really like Paul's style, but I think, unfortunately, that this article takes too many steps too quickly for my facebook audience, which is where I post articles that might make my (mostly) liberal friends think a bit outside the box but not make them shut out the ideas. A difficult and sometimes frustrating line to ride...

~Gaia

Newsweek nails it again

2008-12-10T21:42:00.001-09:00

Newsweek is on a roll this week in my book with this cover story about the lack of biblical backing for banning gay marriage. They also have several interesting related human interest stories.

Go Newsweek!

2008-12-10T21:21:00.000-09:00

A friend posted this article (mainly an interview with Dr. Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute) on facebook and I think it is well worth taking a look at. It is encouraging that mainstream sources like Newsweek are including voices of reason in their line-up.

"Unfortunately, just because economists understand what caused the Great Depression doesn't mean they understand what needs to be done to prevent one. People today mistakenly think that FDR saved us from the Great Depression. But from 1932 until at least 1940, the U.S. was still in a depression. Government grew during the 1930s more than in any decade in history, and yet at the end of the 1930s, we still had more than 15 percent unemployment. So government growth and regulation is not a solution to a depression. I would argue it's the exact opposite."

Read full article...

cringe...

2008-12-01T21:48:00.000-09:00

I was forwarded this representation of supposed future "utopia" and got depressed... So I wrote a response.

Then Wayne shared a video of an amazing woman who just gets more amazing with everything we learn about her, and now my day is going better...

Until next time,

-Gaia

Don't Say Grace, Say Justice

2008-11-30T07:17:00.000-09:00

I love this short op-ed by Craig Biddle from The Objective Standard...

"...Is freedom a gift from God? It is not. Freedom, the absence of physical coercion, is a political condition resulting from the rational, principled thought and action of men—men such as Aristotle, John Locke, the Founding Fathers, Frederick Douglass, and American soldiers...

...Since God is responsible for none of the goods on which human life and happiness depend, why thank him for any such goods? More to the point: Why not thank those who actually are responsible for them? What would a just man do?...

...If someone provides his family with a warm, safe, comfortable home, justice demands that he, not God, be thanked for providing it..."

Click here to read the whole article, and don't forget to express your appreciation for those actually responsible for the happiness in your life.

Happy Holidays! Gaia

Bar Stool Economics

2008-11-02T11:15:00.000-09:00

I find this to be a fairly amusing and insightful look at our tax and welfare system...